Planting marijuana seeds in soil is one of the best ways that you can do to enhance the terpene profile of the cannabis strain that you will be cultivating. There are a lot of other growing mediums out there but using soil is the easiest and most convenient way to go.
Here is a step by step guide on planting marijuana seeds in soil:
1. Choosing your marijuana seeds
One of the first things you have to do when you plan on cultivating your own weed is to choose the type of cannabis strain and seed that you will be using. There are three varieties of cannabis seeds that you can pick.
You can get regular seeds that have a 50-50 chance of growing to be male plants that produce more seeds than bud. Or you can choose to get feminized seeds that are all female plants for a full crop of flowers. There is even a choice for you to get autoflowering seeds that don’t need to rely on their photoperiod to bloom making it easier to cultivate.
Once you have made your choice of seed type, now you can look into choosing what type of cannabis strain you’ll be growing. There are two main kinds of marijuana: Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Sativa. Although both have their share of medical benefits, they have completely different psychoactive effects on the body. They also grow and need to be maintained differently.
There are also cannabis hybrids that you can pick. They are a mix of indica and sativa strains and has the plant characteristics of the strain that is more dominant in their genetics. This is a great choice for those who like to experience both effects.
2. Gathering all the essentials
There is a lot of preparation that you should do before actually planting a seed into the soil. You have to get everything that your cannabis plants will need so that they can grow to their fullest potential once you start the process. Here is a list of things you should consider:
Light exposure
Like all living things, cannabis plants need light to be able to flourish and grow. It is important to find the right spot for them if you plan to grow outdoor. It has to be a place where the plants get exposed to as much sunlight as they can to be happy.
If you are growing indoors, you should have the right lighting in your grow space so that the plants get enough light to convert their food.
Grow medium
Soil is not just any soil that comes from the ground. You have to make sure that the soil that you get to use as your growing medium for your cannabis plants are filled with enough nutrients to sustain their growth. There are tons of soil mix out there that are specifically made for marijuana since they have the right types of nutrients needed for the plants.
Air
The right air circulation can help with your plant’s growth as well as ensure that they don’t get over oxygenated and die. If you are growing indoors, this is especially important. Be sure that you get proper ventilation to facilitate the proper exchange of gases needed by the cannabis plants. This is also so that the stale air gets out.
Water
It’s safe to say that everyone knows plants die without water. This is a crucial thing to take note of when cultivating your cannabis plants both indoors or outdoors. If you are growing outdoors, this won’t be much of a problem if you are in an area with regular rainfall. But supplemental watering may be called for.
When you are growing indoors. You can add extra nutrients to the water to help out with the health of your plants.
Temperature
Cannabis plants are pretty sturdy plants but they can’t really stand well in extreme weather conditions. When growing outdoors, timing is everything. You have to know your local weather like the back of your hand so that you can find out which months are best to plant your weed. If they get exposed to weather that is too hot or too cold, this can put stress on the plants and may stunt or stop their growth altogether.
For indoor cultivation, keeping the temperature consistent is also as important. Heating lamps and fans can be the best tools that you can use to do this. You can even adjust the temperature with your air vents.
3. Planting your marijuana seeds
Getting your cannabis plants off to a good start will set the tone on how they will grow and flourish. Germinating them correctly will ensure that the plants grow to be healthy and very productive.
Germination of marijuana seeds is where their life cycles begin. All this process needs is water, the right warmth, and location. There are many methods that you can choose to go about germinating your seeds such as the paper towel method, in water, straight to the soil, germination stations, and wool starters. If you are planning to grow autoflowering seeds, it is more recommended to germinate them straight into the soil they will mature in since they are easily stressed.
4. The vegetative stage
When your cannabis plants grow their first set of regular leaves, this is when the vegetative phase begins. This is the time that the plants stretch out and grows before they go into their job of providing you with beautiful, delicious buds.
This time in the vegetative state can last as long as you like unless you are using autoflowering seeds that don’t rely on photoperiods to bloom. You can dictate how long they are in this veg state by a longer day cycle when you are growing indoors.
For outdoor growing, you can’t really dictate the length of your plant’s vegetative stage since you can’t control the sunlight so it usually means that the cannabis plants can grow taller and bushier.
5. Flowering stage
The flowering stage is when the magic happens. This is the time your cannabis plants start to bloom the colas that will be the product that you harvest. When this comes about you will have to switch your light schedules to 12-12 days and also separate any of the male plants or hermaphrodites.
Separating the males will ensure that the female plants bloom flowers and not get pollinated to make seeds. The longer light schedule is what enables the flowers to bloom.
If you are growing your marijuana outdoors, all you have to do is to let nature take its course for the plants to bloom. But it is best that you also take out the male plants to avoid harvesting more seeds than bud.
6. Harvesting your cannabis
This is the time you’ve waited for since planting your marijuana seeds. Harvesting your crop is reaping the rewards of your hard work after weeks of cultivation and should be done the right way to ensure the quality of your weed.
There are two things that you have to do to make sure your harvest goes right. You’ll have to flush the plants out from any chemicals before you pluck the blooms then dry and cure them properly. Once you do all that, you will have the best quality bud that you can ever hope to enjoy.
